The Facts & Science of Fighting Bad Breath

The Facts & Science of Fighting Bad Breath

Approximately 75 million Americans consider breath malodor to be their most important concern in a social situation.

Of the $1.2 billion oral care market, over half of that belongs to mouthwash sales.

In a 1992 Consumer Reports, presently available mouthwashes were shown to be almost entirely ineffective, some after only 10 minutes.

An estimated 65% of Americans are estimated to have bad breath. Over 90% of the time, it is of oral origin, caused by VSCs produced from gram-negative anaerobic bacteria.

Everyone produces volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), some more than others, but at >30 parts per billion (PPB), a real malodor exists. The human nose can detect from 3-8 PPB!

Causes of Bad Breath

More than 300 bacterial species make the human mouth home, and each is a specialist in survival. More than 100 bacteria may be attached to a single cell on the top, back portion of anyone’s tongue!

It is the anaerobic (live without Oxygen) bacteria that produce odor. They breakdown proteins in such foods as milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. During this breakdown, sulfur-containing groups in amino acids from such foods as well as our own dead tissue cells are released. This results in the formation of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) – the main product being hydrogen sulfide (the rotten egg smell). The bacteria responsible for this favor an alkaline environment, therefore Dental White & Fresh is pH buffered on the acidic side.

Bacteria are especially lodged deep in the papillae at the back, topside of ones tongue.

Tongue Surface Diagram

The tongue is differently shaped there. Some people’s tongues are rougher than others, which leads to more entrenchment and a whitish biofilm coating. This is the main site for VSC production. The best way to get to bacteria here is by using Dental White & Fresh and tongue scraping. Tongue scrapers are generally either strap-like, or spoon like.  The CLO2 in Dental White & Fresh actually breaks down the biofilm in those far back areas of the tongue that can’t be reached by tongue scraping because of gagging. CLO2 is actually a gas that penetrates down through the biofilm, breaks up and removes the film coating as well as kills the anaerobic sulfur producing bacteria,. These bacteria work around the clock, especially at night when salivary flow all but stops, giving rise to “morning breath.” Since CLO2 is a gas, it also gets where the VSC gases get as well- even into tissues. Using this regimen, ones tongue will get nice an pink as a baby’s.

The dryer ones mouth gets the worse ones breath is. Certain medications such as antihistamines, decongestants, those for high blood pressure, as well as alcohol drys the mouth. The #1 and #2 mouthwashes in the U.S. are Listerine™ and Scope™ and have a greater amount of alcohol than the rest, at 27% and 19% respectively. The “refreshment” one gets is very temporary, because of the drying effect. “Consumer Reports” magazine has shown that the top selling, conventional mouthwashes only mask bad breath for a short time. They also site that research from the National Cancer Institute has linked alcohol in mouthwash to mouth and throat cancers. They showed that the best fighters against plague were Listerene (with all its alcohol) and Peridex. Peridex was two times as effective, because of its active ingredient- Chlorhexidine – which is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent, which in that sense is like CLO2. Peridex requires a prescription & cost over $15.00 per 16 oz bottle. Unlike Dental White & Fresh, it has a lingering bitter taste and stains teeth brown! Furthermore, it has been shown in mice to have poorer biocidal activity than CLO2.

While Dental White & Fresh keeps your teeth their whitest, it is truly eliminating, rather than temporarily masking odor. It works in five ways: It 1) oxidizes sulfur containing peptide substrates and amino acids; 2) oxidizes (VSCs) such as hydrogen sulfide to nonodoriferous salts; 3)dissolves and removes biofilm 4) kills malodorous gram-negative bacteria; 5) masks odor with its predominately mint flavor/fragrance.

Therefore, with Dental White & Fresh you get better plaque fighting ability (than even Peridex), no exposure to health hazards, quicker neutralization of odors, and while you get whiter teeth, you receive a cool refreshing taste and kissable fresh breath for those close up times. No other mouth rinse is capable of providing all of this- NONE!

One can usually not detect his own bad breath, due to olfactory desensitization. In a person with halitosis, nasal air has little to no offense-the offense comes from mouth air. After consuming and digesting garlic, onions, and other aromatic foods, bad odor comes from the lungs, via the bloodstream, and can last for more than a day. No known product can help this. However, the odor in the mouth immediately after consumption can be helped by Dental White & Fresh™.

The biocidal mechanism of CLO2 is thought to be the result of disrupting protein synthesis, inactivating enzymes, and misbalancing electrolytes within cell membranes. In addition, it oxidizes VSCs which are also responsible for local inflammation and the progression of periodontal disease.(Yaegaki K., Sanada K. Biochemical and Clinical Factors Influencing Oral Malodor in Periodontal Patients. J Periodontol 1992;63:783).

CLO2 mouthrinse has equivalent plaque inhibitory action as Chlorhexidine. (Yates, R., Moran, J., Addy, M., Mullan, P., Wade, W., and Newcombe, R. The comparative effect of acidified sodium chlorite and chlorhexidine mouthrinse on plaque regrowth and salivary bacterial counts. J. Clin. Periodontal. 1997;24: 603-609).

CLO2 has been shown to have better biocidal activity on Pseudomonas bacteria, which is prevalent in periodontal disease, than Chlorhexidine (which is the active ingredient in such products as Peridex™ and Perioguard™).(Kenyon AJ, Hamilton SG, and Douglas DM. Comparison of antipseudomonal activity of chlorine dioxide/chlorous acid-containing gel with commercially available antiseptics. Amer J Vet Res 1986;47(5):1101-04).

CLO2 has been shown to kill bacteria, viruses and fungi in under one minute! (Benarde MA, Snow BW, Oliveri VP, and Davidson B. Kinetics and mechanism of bacterial disinfection of chlorine dioxide. Appl Microbiol 1957;15:257-65).

CLO2 has been used following periodontal surgery for producing healthy tissues without redness and swelling. (Babad MS. Using a chlorine dioxide antibacterial gel for soft tissue healing. Dent Today. 1999;18(6):88-89).

CLO2 has been demonstrated to be twice as quick disinfecting denture acrylic resin strips infected with Candida albicans than Clorox™ (Bell JA, Brockman SL, Feil P, and Sackuvich DA. The effectiveness of two disinfectants on denture base acrylic resin with an organic load. J Prosthet Dent 1989;61(5):580-83).

Clinical applications of CLO2 have even been successful in treating non healing diabetic ulcers. (Babad MS. Using a chlorine dioxide antibacterial gel for soft tissue healing. Dent Today. 1999;18(6):88-89).

Safety Concerns

Studies have been undertaken to determine if different oxychlorine species result in significant genetic or carcinogenic hazards to humans. Meier et al. studied the effect of subchronic and acute oral administration of chlorine, chlorine dioxide, sodium chlorite and sodium chlorate on the induction of chromosomal aberrations and spermhead abnormalities in mice( Environ. Sci. Technol., 1994;28:592). Only the highly reactive hypochlorite ion (chlorine) resulted in a weak positive effect for mutagenic potential. The other compounds, including chlorine dioxide and sodium chlorite, failed to induce any chromosomal aberrations or increased numbers of micronuclei in the bone marrow of mice. Vilagines et al. attribute the relatively innocuous effect of chlorine dioxide to its inability to produce halomethanes, unlike hypochlorite and chlorine (Proc. AWWA Disinfect. Semin.,1977:24; Chem. Abs. 93, 173513f.). This observation has more recently been confirmed by Richardson et al in an extensive study of the reaction of chlorine dioxide with water borne organics by the EPA (Environ. Sci. Technol., 1994;28:592).

Two subchronic 90-day animal toxicity studies have been reported for sodium chlorite. (Chemical Manufacturer’s Association (CMA). (Study Report of a 90 Day Feeding Study for Sodium Chlorite in the Rat.1992) and (Subchronic Toxicity of Sodium Chlorite in the Rat. Jour. Amer. Coll. Toxicol., Arlington VA.; Harrington, R.; Romano, R.; Gates, D.; Ridgeway, P. 1995:14(1);21-33) The general toxicological findings found : acute oral LD 50 = 150 mg/kg, chronic no effect level = 7.4 mg/kg, chronic mild effect level = 19 mg/kg. Based on these data, a normal use pattern of a mouthrinse product (5,000 mg/L NaCLO2 concentration-about5 times the amount in Dental White & Fresh), 3x per day, 90% expectoration) for a 150 lb person maintains a > 150 fold safety margin for acute toxicity effects. If the same person were to completely swallow the mouthrinse, a > 20 fold safety margin is still maintained!

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